1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rearward displacement prevention mechanism for vehicle control pedals.
2. Description of the Related Art
When a large energy is applied to the front end of a vehicle in collision or the like, the vehicle may decelerate to a large degree and a dash panel, partitioning the vehicle into an engine room and a vehicle compartment, may be deformed toward the vehicle compartment. The deformation of the dash panel toward the vehicle compartment reduces a foot space at a driver""s seat, and this may cause a suspended control pedal (e.g. brake pedal) supported in the foot space to be displaced toward a driver. To address this problem, there have been proposed a variety of mechanisms for moving a brake pedal relatively toward the dash panel in a case where the dash panel is deformed toward a vehicle compartment.
For example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication (Kokai) No. 9-254821 proposes a mechanism that guides a pedal bracket, which rotatably supports the upper part of a brake pedal, diagonally downward by a-means of a sliding member provided in a vehicle body and thus moves the brake pedal relatively toward the dash panel. This mechanism enables the brake pedal to move back towards the front of the vehicle when energy is applied to the front end of the vehicle.
The conventional mechanism, however, has a problem in that the brake pedal cannot be surely moved back toward the dash panel when the dash panel is deformed in directions including a horizontal direction, because the dash panel is deformed in different ways according to the types of collision such as head-on collision and offset collision and the types of equipped engines.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a rearward displacement prevention mechanism for vehicle control pedals, which is capable of preventing the displacement of the vehicle control pedals in a undesired condition irrespective of the state in which a dash panel is deformed.
To attain the above object, according to the present invention, a guide member connected to a pedal bracket guides one end of the pedal bracket downward toward the rear of a vehicle when the pedal bracket is released from the guide member, and the end of the guide member in the pedal bracket guiding direction is covered at least partially so that the guide member can have a closed section, and there is provided a restricting section that restricts the position of the pedal bracket after it is released from the guide member. It is therefore possible to prevent the displacement of the control pedal in a desired condition by guiding the one end of the pedal bracket by the guide member and restricting the position of the pedal bracket by the restricting section irrespective of the state in which the dash panel is deformed.
In one preferred form of the present invention, the restricting section is integrated with the bracket of the steering column. Therefore, a common part can be used for supporting the steering column and guiding the bracket to prevent the cost from rising. In another preferred form of the present invention, a bead for crashing is provided at the rear end of the pedal bracket so that the rear end of the pedal bracket can move more easily toward the guiding section and the restricting section.